a gardening icon and valued friend and supporter of the Gardens

THE BOTANIC GARDENS GALLERY

WHEN EVENTS WERE CANCELLED ACROSS THE COUNTRY EARLIER THIS YEAR, THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN’S PL NTS EXHIBITION WAS MOVED ONLINE, INSPIRING THE CREATION OF A NEW ECOMMERCE STORE

Like many other organisations, we watched our entire events calendar collapse over the course of a few days in March, including all our exhibitions, with the introduction of the COVID-19 restrictions. At the time, we were installing the much-anticipated PL NTS exhibition at Lion Gate Lodge, so we had to de-install it and move the exhibition online.

While we are extremely fortunate that we could share this exhibition online, the loss of the physical exhibition was devastating for our artists, volunteers, members and our community at large. This is why I am so pleased to share that the PL NTS exhibition will hang in Lion Gate Lodge from Saturday 25 July to Sunday 2 August, albeit with guidelines in place to protect your health and safety as we transition back to a new ‘normal’ way of life.

“We are fortunate that we could share this exhibition online”

This physical exhibition will be an opportunity to view these stunning artworks in person, and a chance to stretch your legs in your Garden in the fresh winter air. As a bonus, there will be some new work exhibited that wasn’t displayed online.

When PL NTS was moved online, we made the heartbreaking decision to postpone and pivot our winter and spring exhibitions. Foundation & Friends exhibitions involve the whole community, from an army of enthusiastic volunteers to the many talented and hardworking artists who

work behind the scenes. Given the state of things, we felt postponement of these exhibitions would better serve all of these contributors when they returned. As such, our planned winter exhibition titled Fungi, which was to be announced in this issue of the magazine, has been postponed until autumn 2021, when it will exhibit in combination with Botanica.

Our 20th anniversary of Artisans in the Gardens has also been postponed. Every year this beloved exhibition is crowded with both art and people, and it is therefore not possible to deliver in the current climate.

“It has been a very sad and difficult decision to come to,“ says Artisans curator Sandy Crichton. ”On a positive note, our aim is to have an amazing exhibition in 2021. The committee and I can’t wait for next year.”

Although we have made these postponements with heavy hearts, when one door closes, another one opens, and this time that door has led us to exhibiting online.

Memories of Home: Bird of Paradise by Neha Gupte

Entoloma virescens by Anna Voytsekovich

NEW ONLINE SHOP The PL NTS exhibition was our first exhibitions foray in the digital space, and feedback we have received from our members and artists has been overwhelmingly supportive. Given that we will be dealing with ongoing restrictions for the foreseeable future, this project grew and evolved into an exciting new idea – an online pop-up shop under the banner of a new ecommerce store called the Botanic Gardens Gallery.

You may have noticed our quiet, soft launch of the website when we trialled it with curated items for a special Mother’s Day pop-up shop in April and May. We showcased stunning ceramics by Trade the Mark, heavenly scented candles by Hunter Candles, oil paintings by Ali Wood and watercolour and paper collages by Laura Blythman, among other garden-inspired artworks and gifts. Our Mother’s Day hampers were especially popular. These featured Australian-made products, including some honey from the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, luxury small-batch tea by Tea Tribe, Straniero Olive Oil from New South Wales, a plant from our Growing Friends Nursery, and some other enticing items.

As we proceed with exhibitions going forward, we’ll be able to make some artworks and handmade items available online as well as in person. For those of you who missed out on experiencing our first online gallery and shop, some of these items, and more, are now available in the Botanic Gardens Gallery. You will find these at botanicgardensgallery.com.au.

CULTIVATE EXHIBITION We are also pleased to announce the launch of Cultivate on the new Botanic Gardens Gallery website, where you can enjoy a preview of this exciting exhibition. This name will be familiar to long-term members, and we decided to bring it back, this time with a twist.

“Art is a powerful tool of connection … it brings people together”

Cultivate, which will be a hybrid online and physical exhibition, will be showcasing the very best artworks from our exhibitions over the years, with favourites from Botanica, Artisans in the Gardens, Wild Thing, PL NTS and Treecycle exhibiting. This treasury of art will allow you to explore the beautiful connection of art with your Botanic Gardens.

While the full roster of Cultivate artists will be revealed in the spring issue of the magazine, we have curated a handful of artists from the following exhibitions for our online launch.

Wild Thing Eggpicnic, Rachel Hollis and Lenny Pelling, who will all take us on a journey celebrating the wildlife that lives in your three Botanic Gardens.

Artisans in the Gardens Luke Abbott, Shimara Carlow and Nicole Jakins, with their bespoke natured-inspired pieces.

Botanica Anna Voytsekovich, Melinda Edstein and Lauren Sahu-Khan, showcasing pieces of their beautiful contemporary scientific artwork.

PL NTS Samantha Dennis, Christina McLean, with her hand-built and hand-painted stoneware clay ceramics, and Hunter Candles, revealing our connection to plants through their work.

A SPECIAL CONNECTION You may ask why we choose to exhibit art in a Botanic Garden. Our answer has been the same over the 35 years that Foundation & Friends has brought you art exhibitions, and it’s that art connects people, and the art that we exhibit connects you to your Gardens.

Art is a powerful tool of connection, as it has been throughout history. It brings people together, and it allows us to pause, to reflect, to wonder, to share and, above all, to hope.

A crisis has a way of distilling what’s important to people personally, and to a culture at large. Within this current crisis, it is our sincere hope that when we get to the other side, there will still

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1. Morning Chorus by Lenny Pelling. 2. Spotted Pardalote by Eggpicnic. 3. Christmas Bells by Lauren Sahu-Khan. 4. Bottlebrush by Melinda Edstein. 5. Cladia fuliginosa by Anna Voytsekovich.

be a vibrant arts culture for us all to return to and benefit from.

That’s where you come in. We need you to support the arts during this time. We need you to visit our exhibitions and share them on your social media, or with your friends. We need you to get lost inside a painting from one of our many talented artists, and if you have the means to do so, to support the arts and Foundation & Friends by purchasing something from the exhibition – whether it’s a painting, a raffle ticket or a handmade item. These purchases will help us continue our support of science, horticulture, conservation and education within your Botanic Gardens.

We would like to thank each and every individual who has contributed to our exhibitions, and we wish to extend our gratitude to members for supporting Foundation & Friends, the arts and the environment during these challenging times.

Our exhibitions wouldn’t be possible without our dedicated and passionate volunteers, and we would like to say a heartfelt thank you from Foundation & Friends to all our volunteer groups, from the Volunteer Exhibition Team to the Volunteer Works Team, the Volunteer Caterers and the Growing Friends Volunteers.

We look forward to welcoming you back to the Botanic Gardens, where we greatly anticipate reconnecting with our membership, and I look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming exhibitions sometime this year. Stephanie Chambers, Exhibitions Project Manager

BOTANIC GARDENS GALLERY To view our exciting online Cultivate exhibition or purchase high-quality artworks and garden-inspired gifts, including jewellery and scarves, visit botanicgardensgallery.com.au